On Wednesday, March 31, we held our Employee Appreciation Event, celebrating our team and wins from 2020. Congratulations to Michele Molyneux, our 2020 Employee of the Year!
We also got to recognize two of our team members for 25 years of service! Starlene Brogdon and Sandy Koonce, we are so grateful for your heart and dedication to Rainbow Acres’, to the Ranchers and to our mission, thank you!
Thank you to Courtney and Michelle, who played two beautiful songs for us, “Ainsi, font, font, font” and “By the Clear Fountain” (two traditional French songs) on their violins.
Serving at Rainbow Acres is about relationships! Specifically, relationships with the Ranchers and one’s peers among employees. This is the Ranchers’ home! It is where they feel safe and protected. Ranchers see each other as family. They also count employees as friends. Serving at Rainbow Acres is one of the rare privileges in life! After about 90 days new employees begin to sense that serving in this place is a Calling. At its best, accepting this “Calling” leads to commitment and dedication to the Ranchers and the values of Rainbow Acres. Those values include living by the “Golden Rule” and “unconditional love,” treating everyone with kindness, dignity, respect, and integrity. Let’s not glorify this “Calling.” Accepting this “Calling” is not always easy, Ranchers and other employees may present challenges that are incredibly difficult. We accept this “Calling” not because it is easy, rather because it is hard.
In our heart of hearts, we know that persevering in the Call as rewards all of its own. Thank you for serving at Rainbow Acres. We wholeheartedly value your love and commitment to the Ranchers and support for fulfilling the mission of Rainbow Acres! For the Ranchers!
Years of Service
When the awards were distributed to all who had 5,10, 15, and 25 years of service, their cumulative total years of service was 165 years. If you add in my 25 years our service represents 190 years of service. There are many more years of course!
Among the top years of service, you will find:Starlene Brogdon – Caregiver: 25 years (Originally a cook for the noon meal at Rainbow Ranch)
The Employee of the Year Award has been part of our employee recognition and employee appreciation for 24 years, the first being in the second year of the Wagner years. Many of those individuals continue in service to Rainbow Acres.
Caregiver, Marie Castonguay, retired March 31, 2021. In her Honor, a serendipitous gathering of Caregivers created a Rainbow Acres Quilt for Marie. They worked feverishly to complete the Rainbow Quilt with all the Caregivers, Administrators, and Ranchers’ names and presented it to Marie, during the event.
